Funkytown

God did a pretty big number on me this past month. Although it wasn't the most enjoyable experience in the world, I'm glad that through whatever means possible, He's looking to secure my eternal joy. It started with this statement from Jesus:

"Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you"
John 6:27

As I thought about this verse, my first reaction was, "Ok, so I probably shouldn't labor for things that won't last because they're ultimately going to perish. Instead, labor for that which will last forever". From that thought came the all-important question, "What is the food that endures to eternal life?"

So, I casually asked God to answer it and went on my merry way. It's funny how He will answer our casual and even half-hearted requests sometimes more dramatically than our earnest ones. Looking back, it's pretty foolish to ask that question half-heartedly. God's serious about eternity and He's serious about what food we're laboring for.

Back to the story, as the days and weeks went on, I descended into something that's hard to describe. You could call it multiple things (a mini depression, doubting God, burned out, homesick), but I don't know if any of them hit the spot. I guess the best description would be to say that I was in a funk. I was unaware at the time, but God was answering my prayer.

At the climax of my funk, I turned back to John 6 to revisit my original question about the food, "What is the food that endures to eternal life?" In my Bible, Christ's answer is about two inches below verse 27:

"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst"
John 6:35

These glorious words rocked my world. Let me explain.

Through the funk, I realized I had been looking to many things for my satisfaction, but they were not the right things. You may expect me to say that these wrong things were working at Microsoft or sports or something tangible like that, but I don't think it was those. The perishing food that I'd been seeking was much more subtle. It was food like the praise of men and what people think of me. And even more subtle, it was food like my listening to sermons in the car or my listening to worship songs or even my reading the Bible every day (a quick side note: sermons and worship songs are great and reading the Bible every day is imperative to our relating to God. You'll understand what I mean as you keep reading).

See, none of these things are bad (and the sermons/songs/reading the Bible are quite good), but when we look to them by themselves for our satisfaction, we're prone to lose sight of Jesus, our bread of life. In other words, if we're standing on these things on their own for our joy, and not using them as a means of seeing, loving, relating to, and partaking in Jesus, we've become idolaters. We've elevated our own piety or discipline or religiosity above our Savior. God used my funk to strip away the perishing food in my life and turn me towards loving the Person of Jesus.

I'm not the slightest bit perfect, and it will take all eternity to love Jesus as I ought, but I'd like to ask you, what are you standing on? Where are you going for your food? Are you standing on the person and work of Jesus as your rock? Is He (not your church attendance, your career, your ministry, your relationships, your entertainment, your fun, your money, your piety, your morality, or your leisure) your bread of life? Nothing else will endure beyond this life, and nothing else will deliver lasting joy.